"Kagome's back!" Shippo cheered happily as he sat on the edge of the Bone-Eater's Well. Inuyasha heard his statement, and rushed over to help her out. He reached his hand down and waited until Kagome had a firm grip on it, then pulled her up. He was surprised when he saw her. She normally wore her little sailor school uniform all the time, but today she was bundled up rather warmly. She wore a white knit sweater, and black jeans that hugged her form perfectly. She finished it up with a black pair of furry boots and a pink scarf tied around her neck. Inuyasha had never seen clothes like these before.
"Uh, Kagome, what's with the getup?" he asked quizzically, tugging gently on her scarf.
Kagome looked around and seemed just as confused as the other two, "oh, I guess it hasn't started snowing here yet." She said innocently.
Inuyasha and Shippo just shot her a look. "Snow? Has it started snowing in your time, Kagome?" Shippo asked, now claiming a spot on Inuyasha's left shoulder.
"Yeah. Really hard, actually. We may even have a blizzard." She answered. She dragged her large yellow bag out of the well and threw it on the ground. She stood up to notice that a breeze had brought an unwelcome chill all through her body. "Well, good thing I dressed for it. Aren't you guys cold?" She questioned through chattering teeth. The two demons just shook their heads. Their demonic power kept them from feeling the brisk air.
Kagome then noticed that their group was incomplete. "Where are Sango and Miroku?" She wondered, looking around.
"They went off to slay a small demon a while ago." Shippo answered. Inuyasha nodded, but became curious as to why they weren't back by now. It was unlike them to take so long with something small like this. The monk would normally just use his cursed Wind Tunnel and suck it in before it could cause any real danger to anyone in the area. If the demon carried poisons, making Miroku unable to use his void, Sango would take care of it with one swift throw of her Hiraikotsu.
"Why didn't you go, Inuyasha?" Kagome began, grabbing the half-breed's attention, "It's unlike you to skip out on a battle, no matter how small." Kagome almost seemed proud in her words.
"Well..." Inuyasha began. He started to feel his face become hot.
"He didn't want you to come through the well alone, so he waited behind." Shippo jumped in happily. Inuyasha's shoulder wasn't the best place to be at this point. He was at the perfect angle to have his skull pounded by Inuyasha's strong fist. Which is exactly what happened. "Ow!" He sneered out in pain as he cupped the fleshy bruise that was left at the top of his head.
This act was something that Kagome would have normally 'sat' Inuyasha for, but she was too busy smiling at Shippo's statement. Coming back to the original conversation mood, Inuyasha spoke up. "So, uh, why did you decide to come back so early?" Not that he was upset at her return.
Kagome then remembered the whole reason for her return. "Oh, that's right." She exclaimed, pounding a determined fist into the open palm of her opposite hand. She then looked around again, to see if there was any sign of the missing monk or slayer. "Well, I wanted to wait until everyone was here, so let's just wait."
Young Shippo was becoming excited over the mystery. "Oh, come on Kagome! Not even a hint?" he squealed, bouncing off Inuyasha and landing gracefully in Kagome's lap.
She giggled at this. "Well, since it's that time of year again, I wanted to tell you guys about a holiday tradition that we have all over the modern world."
Shippo loved hearing all about Kagome's world. It made him jealous that Inuyasha was welcome to enter and exit there whenever he wanted. He remembered when Kagome brought her picture-taking machine and showed him what things in her world were like in comparison to his. He became excited that he was about to learn all new things.
"Well, Miroku and Sango should be back any minute." Inuyasha commented, looking off into the distance.
...
"Sango, I'm sorry!" Miroku called to his betrothed. Inuyasha was able to hear them and start making out their shadows from the end of the forest. He saw Sango andrily strutting ahead, bent forward, completely closing off the desperate monk behind her.
Everyone saw this, and they could only imagine what happened.
Sango was paying no mind to him. As they approached, they all saw that miroku's face had, once again, been marked a bright red due to Sango's hand being viciously slapped across it. It wasn't anything new to any of them, so they decided to ignore it. Kagome hoped that her return would lift her friends sour mood.
Sure enough, Sango smiled brightly when she noticed that Kagome had returned. "Oh, Kagome. Glad to see you made it back safely." The demon slayer sighed, taking her large Hiraikotsu and placing it on the ground behind her. Miroku had caught up with her by this point, and was suffering a series of vicious glares given off by Inuyasha and Shippo for his behavior.
Kagome nodded, "yes. But, I have to return in a few days."
This was all news to Inuyasha. "What?" He snarled angrily. His dog0like features were beginning to come out. "You just got here! What could be so important that you have to go back?"
"That's what I wanted to tell you guys about." Kagome sighed, rubbing her temple. She had captured everyone attention by this point. "I have to be with my family for Christmas."
"Christmas?" Inuyasha sounded out.
"Is that some sort of tradition in you era, Kagome?" Miroku asked curiosuly. Even someone as intelligent as him had never heard of such a thing.
Kagome was happy to see that everyone was so interested. Even though the lot of her friends were much older than her, she felt like a school teacher teaching young children about holidays and traditions. It was rather exciting to her. She sat back down on the edge of the well, and looked proudly out to her friends. Miroku and Sango decided to sit down too. They were tired after their battle, anyway. Inuyasha just stood in back.
"Tell us Kagome!" Shippo cheered, jumping and landing gracefully onto Kagome's open lap. Kagome giggled sweetly at this and began patting Shippo's head in approval.
"Yes, this sounds interesting." Sango agreed. Inuyasha just stood and huffed, like always.
After a deep breath, she began to explain; "Well, families all over the world decorate their houses in flashing lights and decorations. It happens every year at this time. And we all wait for Santa Clause."
"Santa Clause?" Shippo asked. Something about the name seemed magical to him.
"Yes, he is a man that gives presents to all the children in the world. He wears a red suit and has white hair-"
"Like Inuyasha?" Shippo squealed excitedly. Miroku and Sango started a series of uncontrollable chuckles at this, and turned to inuyasha behind them.
He was blushing and seemed incredibly flustered. "I ain't no Sandy Cuss, or whatever his name is!"
"Well, well, Inuyasha," the monk began, grinning, "what kind of 'presents' have you been giving Kagome?" That foolish question was answered by Inuyasha's fist being engraved into his skull, and Sango's open palm roughly smacking his cheek. It was totally worth it.
Kagome impatiently cleared her throat, gathering everyone's eyes on her once more. "He comes a leaves presents under the Christmas tree. It's a large pine tree that we lavishly decorate with lights and ornaments to get into the spirit."
"Wouldn't the tree catch on fire?" Shippo interrupted yet again.
"No, Shippo. It's a light bulb like in my flashlight that I carry around. The tree is totally safe." Kagome explained.
"Idiot." Inuyasha mumbled under his breath.
"But, Santa Clause stops visiting when a child reached a certain age. Then they just have gift exchanges among their families and friends. Everyone gets together to have a great meal and open the presents together." She finished.
"What kind of gifts do people get?" Sango asked, intrigued by all this new information.
"Anything!" Kagome cheered, nearly throwing Shippo off her lap. "Whatever their giver thinks they would like. Something that would mean a lot to them."
Sango glanced over at Miroku. She looked at the bruises that her and Inuyasha previously inflicted on him. He just sighed at what had happened, but that meant nothing. She knew that at first sight of a pretty girl or an open bottom he would turn on his lecherous 'charm' and only wind up getting pummeled again. The fact that he had proposed to her seemed to mean nothing to him.
"That's why I have to go home. Christmas is in 5 days, so I want to be with my family like every year." Kagome explained, fixing her eyes on Inuyasha, who always fought her on returning to her own time. He didn't comment.
"That sounds great, Kagome. I wish I could go." Shippo whined with bright green eyes staring up at her. Kagome only pat his head in sympathy and agreed that it would be a great time if all of her Feudal friends were able to return with her.
"Well, now that that's over, I'm going to see what Kaede has cookin'." Inuyasha yawned, and began heading back towards Kaede's village. It wasn't long until Kagome and Shippo were right behind him.
It was just the monk and the slayer now.
Sango suddenly felt the silence that it was causing just to be alone with him after an argument. Neither of them wanted to say anything. Neither of them had anything to say, anyway. Since the tension was only getting worse, Sango stood up and grabbed her Hiraikotsu, paying no mind to Miroku who had shot up the same time she did.
"Wait, Sango." Miroku demanded firmly. Sango was hoping that she'd be able to walk away and avoid having any discussion with him for a while. But things haven't been going her way, it seems. "What can i do to show you that I'm sorry?" He begged, never actually receiving forgiveness from her earlier.
She only sighed, and never turned around to face him. "Nothing. I'm done."
Those three words were enough to rip him completely in half. The monk that was normally so strong and confident in his actions, had suddenly felt weak and vulnerable. And at the hands of his future bride, no less. He knew that all his flirtatious acts were finally coming back to haunt him in the worst way possible. "Sango...is this because I was flirting again?" He asked desperately.
She didn't let the sadness she was feeling inside get the best of her. She was feeling rather strong about what she was saying. "When you learn the difference between the woman you love, and a tramp on the street, let me know. Until then, get out of my face." Her heart was pounding furiously as she collected herself and walked away from him.
Miroku had never experienced this feeling. He felt as if he were going to fall to the ground at that very moment and cry and scream until the gods took his very voice away from him. He was trembling, and there wasn't anything that could be done or said to make it stop. He had actually lost the woman that he cared about so much to his unusual and deceptive ways. He felt pressure in his chest. "What do I do now?"
...
Miroku took his sweet time returning back to Kaede's village. He didn't want to face Sango. His heart had successfully been broken. Something no other woman was ever able to do. He entered her hut and greeted the elderly woman with all the respect a servant of Buddha should have. The priestess nodded in return. Inuyasha and Kagome were sitting in the corner of the hut. He was rummaging through her bag for some of her delicious modern noodles, and she was trying to pry him away. He knew that Kagome had a lot of experience living in a different time, so maybe she could help him out.
"Kagome," he began, approaching Kagome and kneeling before her, "I need to speak with you." His eyes were gleaming in sadness and worry. Kagome knew that she couldn't say no to her friend in this state. She agreed, and gracefully stood up. They made their way out of the hut and began wandering aimlessly around the village, conducting in deep conversation.
"What's wrong, Miroku?" She asked nervously. It was unlike the monk to seem so nervous about anything.
"I really messed it up this time with Sango." He answered without hesitation.
She was more than surprised that he was open about it. Normally it wasn't something that bothered him at all, let alone something he was even willing to admit to anyone. Excited was a weak term to describe exactly how she was feeling at this. The entire mood completely changed and she got almost teary eyed at his confession. "Miroku, I'm so happy for you." She squealed.
Miroku knew that Kagome had never exactly been a poet when it came to words and cheering people up. "I'm sorry?" He asked.
"You are finally realizing that you love Sango! You want her back!" She happily cheered, causing a comotion that the villagers were more than used to.
The fact that he actually loved Sango never quite passed Miroku's mind before. He knew that he cared about her more than any other woman. Hell, even when they first met and she was trying to kill all of them, her beauty couldn't be ignored. He felt himself often thinking about how amazing she looked in her battle suit, and how it hugged her form so tightly that it almost left nothing to the imagination. As they were travelling together in the hopes of defeating Naraku, he realized that he was starting to understand her and actually began respecting her as a woman more than anything else. Something he had never done before.
Now the monk was deep in thought, remembering the memories he had with Sango, even though he had only known her for a short time. He remembered when Lord Takeda threatened to take her away from him. Seeing how much one man can truly love Sango, made him realize how amazing she really was. He held strong, and the weight was lifted from him when she refused his proposal. He realized at that moment that he didn't want to be afraid anymore. He wanted her all for himself. Proposing marriage was the only way he could do that.
But, actually falling 'in love' with her? He had never thought about that possibility before. Is that why his heart was breaking inside him at that very moment? It was the only explanation. "I suppose you're right, Kagome." He answered, smiling sheepishly. He had never been in love before. It was so new, and it made him feel vulnerable almost.
"Called it!" Kagome sang, jumping around.
"What can I do for her?" Miroku interrupted her celebration, bringing the conversation back on him.
Kagome thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up brightly. Meaning she had one of her famous 'get-Sango-and-Miroku-together' schemes. "Well, it's the Christmas season! Remember what I told you guys about Christmas?" She asked, feeling like a teacher again.
"I should dress up like Inuyasha and sneak into Sango's room at night?" He joked, earning him Kagome's hand smacked across the back of his head.
"Do you even want Sango back?" She screeched in annoyance.
Miroku gently rubbed the back of his head and nodded yes. "You should get her a present." Kagome replied.
He had never gotten anyone a gift before. Especially not anything that would show how much he truely loved someone. This was going to be hard. "Okay, I can do that." He agreed.
Kagome grabbed his hand, "then let's go." She began dragging him with all she was worth. Miroku was actually surprised in the strength that this young girl had. "Come on, Miroku. Let's get Sango back."
...
They arrived at the far west end of the village. There were vendors selling some food and other necessary house hold items. Miroku had no idea where he was going to find the perfect gift for Sango in a place like this. They searched for what seemed like hours, and found nothing that he could give to her. "Kagome, let's just go." Miroku begged, becoming frustrated in his search, "there isn't anything here."
"You can't give up Miroku!" Kagome yelled desperately. The thought of her friends breaking it off was devestating to her.
"Yes, but there's nothing-"
"Excuse me, young monk." A voice gently called from behind him, cutting him off. Miroku turned around to see a small and elderly man standing feet behind him. He held up a small string of pink prayer beads. "Did you drop these?" His hand was shaking as he displayed the beads.
Miroku realized that they must have fallen out of his kimono pouch. He had all different types of beads in all sorts of colors that he had charmed for many different instances. The green ones allowed invisibility against demons, the red ones allowed easy access for barriers, the yellow ones helped heal illness, and the pink ones...
Yes, of course! The pink ones helped ease any worry someone may have. It brings out their happiness and strength when they needed it most. It was perfect. "Yes, sir, thank you very much." Miroku thanked graciously and bowed his head in respect. When the man walked away, Miroku turned to Kagome and hald the pink beads up in the light. "I got it."
...
The two had made their way back to Kaede's hut. Miroku ran in to see if Sango had returned. She hadn't. "Where is Sango?" He asked, completely out of breath.
"She said that she was going to sit by the lake just outside the village," Shippo chimed it as he was poking at some food that Kaede had prepared for them, "she seemed really upset." Shippo glared at Miroku, hinting that he knew the monk was guilty of something. Miroku ignored the foul stare and bolted out of the hut just as quickly as he had entered.
'I have to make this up to her.' He thought, running as if his entire life rested in her forgiveness.
...
"Kirara, what should I do?" A depressed Sango asked her feline companion, not actually expecting an answer. The demon cat just mewed softly and snuggled deeply into her owners lap. The slayer sighed and looked out inmto the orange sun that was setting just behind a line of mountains. "This is beautiful," a warm smile spreading across her face for the first time all day, "I wish I could watch this with someone."
"How about me?" A voice called from behind her. Sango recognized the voice as Miroku, so she turned around to greet him. However, she didn't say anything, and gave him a long and pained glare. The monk ignored the coldness and walked casually over to her and sat down beside her without any hesitation. "I'm sorry Sango. I mean it this time." He said in an almost whisper, trying his best to make eye contact with her.
She was silent for a moment, but then answered him in a broken voice, "you say that everytime. How can i trust you this time?" She was about to cry over all this. It was always so hard talking to him about their relationship. He never changed his mood or expression about anything, and she had too many emotions to keep them locked in the way she did. Her thoughts were halted when she felt a gentle tug on her left arm, that almost caused her to tip over. She turned her head to face Miroku and saw that he was placing a string of pink prayer beads on her arm.
She was silent and pulled her hand back to see what they were. The pink was beautiful, and matched her kimono. Plus, it was also her favorite color. She looked up at his indigo eyes. They were so big and bright that she swore she could see herself in them. She sudden;y felt her face become red and hot in embarrassment. Before he could comment on that she spoke up, "Miroku, what is this?"
"Just a Christmas gift, Sango," he began, then flashed her a sweet and calming smile, "from me, to you."
Sango's blushing had not yet ceased. In fact it got brighter with every word he said. "Y-you mean that holiday that Kagome told us about?"
Miroku nodded, and locked eyes with her once more, making sure that she wouldn't get away from his stare this time. "They help you relieve all worry from your mind.I know that you have a lot to worry about these days, but I'm here to help. Things are going to get tougher, there is no denying that, but I want you to look at those beads and remember that I will always be here to pick you up when you fall."
"M-Miroku..." She began, tearing.
The monk saw the water form in her eyes, and smiled at the affect he was having on her. He continued, "I swear that I will never look at another woman as long as i am alive. Whenever you have doubts about me, or anything in the world, i want you to look at those beads and remember that I-"
His words were stopped when he felt Sango's lips push feverishly against his own. He was completely taken off guard and reacted the only way he knew how; to hold his woman tight and kiss her in a way that he had never kissed any woman before. he wrapped his arms around her. one around her neck and one around her lower back, pulling her into him as much as he could. The kiss was deep and passionate, something either of them have ever felt before. When they pulled back from it, Miroku had to take a few breaths before continuing. Sango smiled.
"...love you."
Sango's tears were falling down her face as fast as possible at that. "That's all I wanted for Christmas, Miroku." She whispered, holding him tighter and burrying her pink face in his chest. "I love you, too." It sounded muffled against him, but he could hear it all the same.
Miroku held his bride-to-be as close to him as possible, and shut his eyes. He could catch some small whiffs of her hair. The sweet scent filled his nose and truly made him happy that this is the scent that would always be in his arms. His eyes shot open when he felt something cold land on his nose. There were droplets of snow falling everywhre. They looked amazing against the setting sun that was almost completely down. it gave the sky a purple tint, and it was probably the most romantic thing they had seen. Sango curled up tighter into him, searching for warmth from the snow.
"That blizzard from Kagome's time must have finally hit here." Sango whispered, "It's beautiful."
"Merry Christmas, Sango." Miroku sighed, burying his face into the top of her head.
"Merry Christmas, Miroku." She held up the beads to the moonlight, and awed at their sparkle and shine, "and many more to come."
...
Merry Christmas you guys :)